10 out of 30 foreign professional baseball players who came to Korea this season packed their bags before the first half of the season. Each club fighting fierce rankings gave a drastic prescription to boldly replace foreign players who were sluggish or in poor physical condition.
Kiwoom changed foreign batters on the 13th, the last day of the first half. When infielder Edison Russell, who was out of power due to a wrist injury, did not recover, it was decided to replace him, and outfielder Ronnie Dawson, who played in four MLB games, was recruited.
With this, Russell became the 10th foreign player to be kicked out of the KBO League this season.
Including Birch Smith (ex-Hanwha Eagles), who became’Exit No. 1’ 19 days after the opening of the season, Eni Romero (ex-SSG Landers), Brian O’Grady (ex-Hanwha), Dylan Pyle (ex-Doosan Bears), and Bo Chulser (ex-Doosan Bears) KT Wiz). Eric Yokishi (former Kiwoom), Adonis Medina, Sean Anderson (former KIA Tigers), Jack Rex (former Lotte Giants), and Russell left the team in turn.
By club, KIA, Hanwha, and Kiwoom used all two replacement cards, while SSG, Doosan, Lotte, and KT changed one foreign player. On the other hand, LG Twins, NC Dinos, and Samsung Lions spent the first half without replacing foreign players.
The speed of foreign exchange has accelerated since the end of May.
Until early May, only Smith and Romero, who went on closure due to injuries, were kicked out. Smith, the Opening Day starter, collapsed after one game, and Romero packed without throwing a single pitch.
However, as the ranking battle intensified in earnest, each club tried to strengthen its power by replacing foreign players who were not helpful. Starting with O’Grady, who was rated as the worst foreign hitter on May 31, 8 players left without completing the contract period for 44 days.안전놀이터
Professional baseball, which finished the first half, is expected to compete fiercely for the right to advance to the postseason until the end of the season, as it only takes 4.5 games from 4th place NC to 9th place Kiwoom.
As a result, the possibility of additional foreign players being replaced is also open. In particular, this year, professional baseball is normally held during the Hangzhou Asian Games, which open on September 23 and end on October 9, so foreign players are important for the 10 clubs where key players are selected as national teams to achieve good results. .
The baseball rules stipulate that ‘foreign players registered after August 16th cannot play in the postseason of that year’. As the foreign player replacement work must be completed within August 15 to be used in the postseason, the minds of the seven clubs excluding KIA, Hanwha, and Kiwoom, who cannot change additional foreign players, have become complicated.